Author: Boria Majumdar

The first point defined the match. To leave the first serve of the match so confidently speaks of a state of mind. It was yet again on display at 10-13 in the second game. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik had started to take control and the Indian pair looked somewhat on the back foot half way into the second game. That’s when the burst came. In exactly a minute and 10 seconds when a hit to the eye slowed the game down, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were back on even terms. And thereafter, it was a canter. Relentless…

It is not easy being an Indian sports fan. For years, it hasn’t been. And the story has hardly changed. India rarely wins anything big in sport, and that’s a reality which hasn’t changed much. Even in cricket, a sport India dominates financially, it’s Australia, England and West Indies that have taken home the trophies that matter in the past decade. The last ICC trophy was won 10 years ago, and yet, the Indian fan has stayed true. The minuscule section of toxic supporters notwithstanding, the Indian fan is largely used to suffering heartbreaks. And yet, they don’t give up.…

Edited Extract from Mission Domination: An unfinished quest by Boria Majumdar and Kushan Sarkar. Rishabh Pant was dubbed a “young pretender”, “next big thing”, “adorable boy next door” and “wasted talent” all in a space of 18 months. He was always treading the thin line between heroism and insanity. So did the fickle minded fans, who would want him to hit sixes on demand as if it’s a concert where you want the singer to belt out numbers at your will. “From the World Cup to Australia, it was an eventful journey,” said Rishabh during an interaction with us. “We…

Even the normally stoic MS Dhoni was excited and jubilant on occasions. That’s how tense it was in Ranchi. When the video umpire awarded India the second goal in the penalty shootout, Dhoni was ecstatic. We all were. Few imagined that a valiant effort would end in heartbreak, and India would have to fight another day for the ticket to Paris. But then, that’s sport. Beautiful and cruel at the same time. On Thursday night, it was all too cruel for Savita Punia and her team. They were so close yet, so far. On Friday evening, things could be profoundly…

He made 64 runs off the last 14 balls and a 100 at a strike-rate of 170. And then back-to-back Super-Over heroics ahead of his younger teammates. Rohit Sharma will be mighty pleased with this effort after two consecutive ducks. What this knock has done is helped silence all noise. It will now allow him to build the team for the T20 World Cup in peace. Rohit, anyone who watched him bat last night would agree, started out scratchily. One or two edges, a few missing the edge by not much, and it seemed the skipper was feeling the pressure.…

There are 50 days to go for the second edition of the Trailblazers Conclave. And to think that India’s best athletes, able-bodied and para, men and women, will all come together under one roof in Kolkata in the Olympic and Paralympic year has a sense of the unreal attached to it. And yet, it is true. From Abhinav Bindra and Pullela Gopichand to Vishwanathan Anand, PR Sreejesh and Mahesh Bhupathi, the conclave will see a galaxy of Indian sporting legends at flag-off. And then, a very special session will help up the tempo. Saurav calling Sourav – Ghosal and Ganguly…

The Paris 2024 dream is alive. A resounding 5-1 win for the Indian women and the campaign, which appeared to be in danger of derailing after a surprise loss in the first game, is back on track. While India will have to face Germany, title favourites, in the semi-final, they will now get two chances to make it to the Olympics, with the third-placed team also making it to Paris. But all that’s for later. Tuesday night was all about determination and aggression. In the very first minute of the game, India were on the attack. A fantastic through ball…

“He has never had a bad season for the national team, and is like a rock for us,” said Igor Stimac, India’s coach, as the dust settles on the spirited fight and defeat to Australia. “A real leader of men, no praise is enough for Sandesh. We were excellent defensively against set pieces, and that’s our big takeaway from the game. In the first half, Australia weren’t able to dent our shape and the best chance was Sunil’s header.” It is only natural that a large part of the credit goes to Sandesh Jhingan, who was heroic against Australia. Jhingan…

At 14-19 in the second game, when Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s flick shot hit the net, there was clear relief on the faces of Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae. They were 20-14 up and one point away from levelling the contest. At six game points down, most pairs would give up on the game and focus on the decider. It was a near-impossible situation and while miracles do happen in sport, they are generally rare. With Satwik and Chirag Shetty, however, they are turning out to be routine. Six straight game points saved and, clearly, the Korean world champions were starting to…

Australia are a much better team in comparison to India. They aspire to be Asian Cup champions and are a side that has played every FIFA World Cup since 2006. Most of their players play in the leading leagues in the world, and ahead of the Asian Cup, they have played a practice game and trained to their best. In every sense, they are a superior outfit and almost impossible to beat. And yet, we expect India to compete. We expect the Blue Tigers to not be overawed and run the hardest they can for 95 minutes and push the…